The Man with the Lion Tattoo
by regalshipper
Summary: Regina and Robin Hood meet that night at the pub. She decides to run off with him and his merry men to escape her life as the queen and as an apprentice of the dark one. Not all love is easy, and this is no exception. Where will their journey take these two? AU Regina X Robin Hood
1. A Meeting

**A/N Hello Oncers! After tonight's episode, I feel this had to be done asap, and here we are! Something tells me that these two are in for a bumpy ride! So now, I am proud to present;**

**The Man with the Lion Tattoo**

* * *

She looked at the handle of the door for a second before quickly grabbing the handle of the door and thrusting it open. She stood gazing on the man who was raising his glass to a group of other men. The man with the lion tattoo. She smiled a little bit, but then her thoughts suddenly changed. "What if he doesn't like me? What if he knows who I am? No. This isn't right." She panicked a little, her eyes darting around for a moment before her arm moved on its own accord, slamming the door shut.

Inside the pub, many heads turned as the entire room shook from the door being slammed shut. The man turned around in his chair and put down his drink staring at the door. "Don't worry about it Robin!" one of the men said. "Here," he pushed Robin a plate with a loaf of bread on it, "have a bite to eat!"

"What happened?" he said curiously glaring back to the two men who sat with him.

"Just some dame," the other man said stuffing a piece of bread into his mouth. His next words were muffled, "probably went to the wrong place."

Robin shook his head and stood up quickly, grabbing his cloak that sat next to him and began to hurry out the door. "Where are you going!"

He turned around, slinging the cloak over his shoulder. "Helping a damsel in distress." He continued out the door of the pub into the cool night air. He glanced around the empty streets where no person was found. He walked around until he saw a flash of white moving from behind a stack of barrels. As he observed, the figure was a woman, who seemed to be crying. He slowly walked around the barrels. "Anything wrong, madam?"

The woman jumped a bit, relinquishing a purple spark that was held between her hands. "I... I... I don't know." she said looking down at her shoes.

"There must be something wrong that makes a woman so beautiful cry." He paused for a moment as she collected herself, wiping away a tear with a handkerchief. "Here," he said holding out his hand. "Let me help you up."

She shyly held out her hand before looking up to see that the man was adorned with a tattoo. He was the man she was meant to be with. She gasped a little bit before blushing.

He pulled her up from her seat on one of the over turned barrels. She looked up a bit, and their gazes locked. She was beautiful, even with her make up smugged from her tears. Her dark eyes were shining with youth, her hair had the most perfect ringlets, even her presents was regal. For some reason, the woman looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "I am sorry, we haven't been properly introduced," he bowed down a little before placing a kiss on her hand, which he was still holding, "my name is Robin, Robin Hood."

She blushed again, his simple gesture was that of many of the nobles that her mother had brought to court her before her marriage to the king, but this was different. She felt that this was right. "And my name is Regina."

"It is a pleasure to meet you M'lady. So, Regina, what seems to be troubling you."

She chuckled a little bit. "Oh the world." The man nodded, indicating his attention and she continued. "My life has been a wreck, and I think you would want to be spared from the details."

"I understand. I went through a few bumps in my life, but it all gets better in the end as long as you keep your friends close."

"Friends..." she trailed off. "I have only one friend, but she has already done far too much for me already." She wished to tell him of the pixie dust that had shown the way to him, but she held her toung.

"Come now, you must have more then one friend." He said reassuringly.

She laughed again, letting go of his hand and beginning to walk away a bit. "I was never aloud to have friends as a child. My mother forbade it. And now that I am an adult, I am still restricted by who I can see. My husband tells me I have to stay put, it is a wonder I am even out here."

He followed behind her. "Well, I can be your friend," She turned around quickly, and he found himself with a stupid grin stuck on his face, "if you want."

"Really?"

"Yes of course!" He turned around and headed back for the pub. "Come I will buy you a drink." She quickly followed behind him as he re-entered the pub.

* * *

The men looked curiously as Robin lead Regina to the table. The one finished stuffing a piece of half eaten bread in his mouth, dropping crumbs onto the table. Regina looked on with a brief look of disgust before casting her eyes away. "Looks like Robin's got himself a girl friend!" the other said as he raised his mug to take another drink.

"She is just a friend in need." he said before waving down a waitress. "Two of the usual!" he yelled to her. Regina sat glancing around at the establishment. She had never been in a commoners eating establishment, let alone a pub. The sights were quite different than she had seen in her days. The people ate with their hands, dropping food everywhere on the floor. The occasional rat or mouse would scurry across the dirty floor. This place was truly quite nasty, but as Tinkerbelle had told her, the man next to her was to be her soul mate. And if he wished to be here, then she would be here also.

The woman, who she had noticed was wearing awfully suggestive clothing, dropped off two mugs of a suspicious liquid at the table. Robin tossed her a few coppers and she left to go to another group of men. "Here," his voice called her out of a daze. He was pushing one of the mugs to her. "Its quite tasty."

"What is it?" she said peering into the mug curiously.

"It is a beer. I presume you have had one before."

"No never." she said sniffing the liquid. It's smell was not among the most pleasant.

"I am sure you husband has had some in the house before." He said shooing away a rat with his boot.

She looked up into his eyes. "I have never been very close with my husband. I don't even know where he is now, let alone what drinks he prefers."

"Well," he said lifting his glass, "Here is to friendship!" She clinked her mug against his and quickly swallowed most of the liquid. It was true, the drink was quite good. Very good in fact. "Do you like it?"

She poured the rest of the glass into her mouth. "Yes, it is, quite different from what I am used to."

"Then how about another?"

* * *

They drank late into the night, until the sun was threatening to come up over the horizon. "Regina, we must be getting you home." He said putting down his mug for the final time. She stared up at him in a drunken stair. She had never had so much alcoholic beverage in her life before. She felt a bit lightheaded and very happy. It was an unusual sensation. "We can escort you there."

"I don't want to go home." She said like a grumpy child before standing up. "My husband will be home, and then I will never be able to leave." She started to pout with the thought of having to go home and to also see that infuriating child. The kingdoms beloved angel Snow White. Just the name now made her want to cringe.

He looked at her and then looked at the men. "Then why don't you come with us?" He said quickly.

"Robin!" The one man yelled. "She is a woman!"

"We have never had a woman among our ranks before!" The other added after.

"Then she will become the first. What do you say Regina. Do you want to come with us?" he said with a smile.

A large smile appeared on her face as she caught a glimpse of a little green light appear out the window behind him. Thank goodness for that fairy. She had been granted her freedom. She nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes, yes absolutely."

He smiled along with her and grabbed her hand to help her up. "Then by all means, lets go!"

* * *

**A/N To be continued?**


	2. Job of a Merry Man

**A/N Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the sixty-three of you that are following this story. I was originally unsure about continuing, but I am glad I did. I got a few ideas on how I can continue. If you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to ask. Updates around every four to six days. **

**Please review!**

* * *

"Regina!" she heard through her sleep. She decided to ignore the strange voice and groaned.

The voice called for her again. "Regina! Wake up!" She rolled over onto what she thought would be comfortable, which was to her dislike, was the bumpy floor of a forest. Her discomfort caused her to slowly sit up and rub her eyes. When she opened them, they were bombarded with bright day light that sent pain flashing through to the core of her brain. She instantly shut them again.

"It's okay Regina. Just a little hang over. Open you eyes." Suddenly the events of the previous night came rushing back into her memories as she opened her eyes once more. There was a man with mouse brown hair and that adorable smile she was disappointed that she had forgotten, even if only for a brief moment. Yes, it was a pleasant sight to wake up with Robin Hood at your side.

"Here," he said handing her a handful of green herbs, "It'll help with the head ache." She gave a dull smile as she quickly stuffed the bitter herbs into her mouth and painfully swallowed. He left her view for a moment and she stretched each of her achy muscles one at a time. After clearing her mouth of most of the foul taste, she stood up from the spot she had been sleeping in.

Upon closer inspection, she found she wasn't even in a house. She was under a makeshift tent made from what seemed to be old sheets. There were a few other blankets laying disarranged that were scattered about the tent. It was apparent by the lack of organization that there were no other woman here. Robin re-entered the tent holding a cup of water that he was sipping in a little tin cup. "Don't think I have ever seen some one sleep like that before."

"What are you implying?" She questioned wiping a few dead leaves off of the top of her dress.

"You seemed to be in a lot of pain. You rolled around a lot too. Sounded like you were having a nightmare almost every time I came in to check on you." He looked at her with surprise as she showed no realization to the existence of her nightmares. "You called out for a person too. Daniel." Her face became flushed red in embarrassment. She had no idea she was still having nightmares about him. "Is he your husband?"

This stopped her train of thought right away. "No. No, no, Daniel was a wonderful person, before, he... uh..." she contemplated telling him the truth about Daniel, but would he really trust her with her mothers magical history ripping out the hearts of the living. Best to keep that one to herself. "He died."

"Oh, I am sorry for your loss." There was silents for a moment as he finished his cup of water, sipping loudly when he reached the bottom. "How would you like me to show you around camp?"

"Well I am not a child, I am perfectly capable of doing that on my own." She saw his face change to disappointment. She quickly added a few words to the end of her statement. "But it would be nice to walk with some one."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out the hole in the tent. It took her a moment to take in the entire large camp from the large clearing they stood in. There were at least seven large tents which each could hold up to twenty people. "This," he said moving his hand over the land covered with tents, "is where we live."

"You live here?"

"Well only temporarily. We are leaving tomorrow."

She gasped a little. "You are leaving?"

"You have heard of the Merry Men before is assume?" she shook her head from left to right. "These are the merry men and I am their leader. We are a traveling group that brings about justice." Regina smiled a bit. "We steal money from the rich and give to the poor." Her smile retreated.

"Your a thief?" She said in shock. How could her true love be a thief?

"Well, not exactly. They," He said pointing in the direction of the castle to the north which you could see peeking out from the trees, "they are ones who steal." Regina felt appalled at his statement. She had never taken anything from anyone. "The taxes in this kingdom are only rivaled by that of King George's. The poor starve because their money is stolen so the royal family can have their fancy clothes and exquisite banquets."

Memories of the roasted swan she had eaten a few days prior entered her head. How many times did she see a commoner family sit down to a nice meal with choice of entrée and side dish? Now that she thought about it, that amount of food she had her chiefs prepare was ridiculous. A feast that large could have easily fed a family of ten or more. "That is why we are here, M'lady." he paused for a moment to let her realize his plans. "We are planning to rob the castle."

Her breath hitched for a moment. She was supposed to be in that castle right now. "What? Do you actually think it will work? Have you seen the Black Guard before?"

"No we have it all figured out. The King and his daughter are returning from a trip to the summer castle tonight. The Black Guard and the queen will be preoccupied with the King and Princess that we can go in the back. There are doors in the back of the castle where we could sneak in and go through the castle to the gold room." It is true, through her experiences of living in the castle, the plan would work.

"You would need a lot of men to steal any of that gold. There may still be guards and defense would be needed. Not to mention gold is very heavy and not easy to transport."

"How would you know?" She froze up for a moment.

"Crap." she thought. Had she really blown her cover already? "I was the daughter of a noble man. We had enough gold to dedicate a portion of our house to holding it and we had two guards put in place to protect it." Not a lie, but she still felt it not wise to tell him that she was the queen. Then again, having knowledge of the palace would make him want her on to stay by his side. "You know, I have a bit of magic. Not bad magic, but I feel it would help."

He turned to her with a puzzled look on his face. "Would you really be willing to do that?" She nodded noticing her head ache beginning to subside. "I am quite happy with you decision to help. I am sure this will help to convince the men to let you travel with us." He lead her back into the tent, not letting go of her hand for a moment. "Here let me show you the plan."

* * *

The sky was dark, and yet you could see the moon outline faintly against the pitch black sky. The faint light made excellent cover as a group of carriages began moving down the stone paved road to the palace. In the underbrush, a group of around fifteen men and a woman stood silently dressed all in black to blend in with the backgrounds.

Regina saw through the darkened windows of the King's carriage to see the princess with her ignorant smile as she stared out the window. Her hatred seemed to grow for the child with every passing day. She clenched her fists tightly until she found a hand being placed onto her shoulder. "Regina..." he whispered.

Her hands glowed a soft purple each man became engulfed by the soft purple smoke. She had teleported them inside of the castle's abandoned kitchen. Food had been prepared for the King and Princess' homecoming and was laid out on ornate trays. Robin pointed a few men up the spiral staircase on the one side of the kitchen and pointed a few other's into the pantry of the kitchen. Each began filling their burlap sacks full of food and coins.

A group of guarding men with swords and archery bows stood by the bags as they were filled in the middle of the kitchen. After each party had returned, another was called upon. She took her group up the stairs to where she knew Leopold had kept his secret stash of gold hidden for his eyes only.

As the men began grabbing handfuls of gold, Regina snuck out of her party for a moment and ducked into her chambers for a few minutes. She slipped past the door and quickly tip towed across the floor to not make a sound. Over on her vanity was a jewelry box which she flicked open and dug out a chain with a ring on it; it was the thing she cherished most dearly. Then she reached onto her own finger where a ring of beautiful gemstones was still attacked her finger. She ripped it from her hand and placed it on top of the box. In her mind, she was no longer married to the King. She was a free woman. She also grabbed her mother's spell book so she could continue her magic lessons alone if nessesary. She tucked the book into the cloak that she had borrowed of Robins.

She then turned around and took one last look at the chambers that had held her prisoner for so long, looking back on her time spent in here. And now more then ever, she was glad that she would never return to this awful place. She then ran out the room and made her way back down to the kitchen with a medium sized bag of golden coins she had gathered.

She threw them in the nearest bag and received a nod from several of the men. The largest slung the bags of coins over their backs and the rest grabbed food and they snuck out the back door of the castle and ran deep into the woods.

* * *

"You were great in there Regina." Robin commented handing her a leg of chicken that they had stolen from the kitchen. "Most people end up running back into the woods the first time. I am proud of you."

"Thanks." She said taking a large bite out of the chicken leg. Even though chicken was an item available to her daily through servant request, she had never felt so rewarded for getting her own food, even if came out of her own castle. "So what do we do with all of this food. It will spoil if we don't get it frozen soon."

"We distribute it to the poor of course along with most of the money."

"But what about the men?"

He laughed. "You really do sound like a noble. We catch it ourselves. We have the ability to hunt."

She scrunched her nose at the thought of eating bloodied meat, but this was her life now. She had chosen to run away from her palace life. She had left behind her wedding ring, the only thing she had that bound her to that place. She had no right to go back there. "You are a noble, aren't you." he stated. "It is okay, you don't have to say anything. I know."

She said nothing more, just continued to eat her chicken leg. "Who are you married to? A governor? A prince?"

"It doesn't matter. Our marriage was a sham. We don't love each other. Quite the contrary of what most people think they know, in most marriages in the upper class, there is no love. It is all for business deals or alliances. They say that you will grow to love the person, but that is a lie. I have never even slept in the same chamber as my husband."

"So, you don't love you husband?"

She set down the bare bone to her chicken leg. "Not in the least."

He quickly leaned over and pressed his lips onto hers. It was a light kiss, filled with what she recognized as pure passion as she kissed him back, their lips moving in perfect harmony. They parted only for moments before kissing yet again, holding each other tightly.

They let go of each other moments after. He saw the love in her now softened eyes. "What was that for?" She asked.

"For being exactly ask you are. A beautiful, smart, strong woman." A few of the men who were loading the bags into carts began to grown tired and they retreated one by one to their tents. "Get some rest M'lady, for early in the morning we will depart."

"Good night." she said through her wide grin as she receded into the tent where she would dream of Robin the entire night.


	3. Family and Food

**A/N Sorry for the long wait. Had some writers block. Suggestions always taken. Also, if any one has some free time, I was hoping to have a better cover for this story. If you are interested, just message me.**

**I love you all! Please review!**

* * *

She awoke the next day very early with the sound of men quietly rushing around her. She sat up and looked around confused before a man carrying a stack of blankets stopped to talk to her. "Madam, you must be getting up soon. We are leaving in a short time."

"Where are we going?"

"You will find out when we get there." He said running out from under the tent to load the blankets into a cart waiting outside. She leisurely got off the ground and slipped on her shoes. She grabbed the cloak that she had borrowed from Robin and the few belongings she had before leaving the tent. She assisted the men in disassembling the rest of the tents and loading the rest of the items onto the carts.

In less then an hour they began to go, some men walking, others on horseback. She had chosen a horse, mainly because her footwear made it illogical to walk and she had enjoyed riding a horse since she was young. They all watched the sky as they walked, transforming from a deep blue, to an orange, and finally to a light blue. Soon, they reached the edge of the forest which backed up to a small farming village.

There were men and woman working in the field and small children played with a ball watched by the elderly. A little boy pointed first. "Hey look! Its Robin Hood!" he yelled out.

The kids instantly stopped playing and ran to Robin's horse. They began to crowd him yelling to him in excitement.

"Robin Hood! Your back!"

"We were wondering when you would return!"

"Did you bring us food?"

"Will you play with us?"

"Come down Robin!"

"Where is the food!"

Some of the Merry Men climbed into the carts grabbing out of a bag of food. One threw the bag over his shoulder and carried it over to an old man with a can. The man smiled a toothless grin and the man pulled out a loaf of bread.

A few of the other men were busy distributing fruits and deserts that were meant for the prissy little princess.

Robin had climbed off of his horse to take a sack full of coins to the adults working in the field. She sung off her horse and grabbed a sack of food running after him into the muddy fields. She frowned as her nice white heels began brown with the watery mud. Most of her dress also had a great deal of dirt and mud on them. She desperately needed new clothing. The men and woman looked up as they saw the figure getting closer. "Robin!" the one man cried as he gave him a big hug. "Oh my boy. You need to visit more often!" He said letting his son go. Regina observed the man. Robin was clearly his father's son with matching dark eyes an light brown hair. His father's was beginning to grey with age and his beard was longer, but she could defiantly see the family resemblance.

Many of the other workers had stopped working and came to greet him. "How is Mama?"

"She has been a bit indisposed lately, but your homecoming will bring her great joy." Regina reached into her bag and grabbed out an apple.

"Here you are sir." She said handing him the apple.

"And who is this?" The man asked taking a large bite.

"This is Regina. She is a friend." Robin said.

Regina stood proudly and shook his hand. "Is a pleasure." A few other people came over to her and she reached into the bag handing them loaves of bread and meat which they took and ate as fast as possible.

After the crowd left her and walked off to eat their meal, she peered into astonished at what little was left. Robin and his father were continuing their conversation and she took a fruit out of the bottom of the bag. Robin noticed her out of the corner of his eyes and stopped her before she took a bite. "Regina, this food is not for us to eat."

"I am sorry, I am just not used to skipping meals." She said with a frown as she placed the fruit back in the bag. They gave out most of their remaining goods and Robin tied up his bag and placed it in his hood's pocket.

He placed his hand on her arm and began walking, leading her out of the fields with his father following not so far behind. "Come, there is one who I wish you to meet in this town." He lead her into one of the smallest houses and pushed open the front door.

Inside the foul smell caused her to wrinkle her nose. It was not clean and the furniture very minimal. A table, two chairs, one that was in desperate need of replacement, and a cot in the corner that contained a sleeping figure. Robin released her arm and went next to the figure, shaking their shoulder lightly. "Mama." he whispered softly.

The figure slowly moved and opened her eyes. She had gnarled gray hair and a scar going down the left side of her face. Her sad grey eyes looked up in pure joy and she held out her weak arms to give her only son a hug. "Oh my son," she started hoarsely , "how I have missed you."

"Regina! Come here!" he called. Regina came to him with the sack of food in hand. The elderly woman looked up to Regina with hopeful eyes.

"My son, have you... finally found... a woman to court?" the woman said between large breaths of air. Regina laughed a little as she pulled out the fruit that she had originally intended for herself.

"Yes." He said confidently. Regina shot him a puzzled look before he mouthed the words 'play along'.

"I am so proud of you." The woman said taking a bite of the soft fruit.

Robin turned his head to look at Regina's. He lifted his hand and rested it on her cheek bone placing his thumb on her chin to lift her head. He then slowly closed the space between them with a slow and soft kiss. They moved their lips in unison at a slow tempo as Regina sighed into the kiss allowing him to deepen it. For the first time since Daniel's death, she let her feelings for him slide out of her mind and in their place was her thoughts of their blossoming new love. His mother sighed in approval of her sons actions. "I knew one day you would find the one." His father said towering over the couple. "You did good, son."

* * *

After meeting with his parents for some time, Robin and Regina joined the rest of the Merry Men in the clearing. The children bombarded him with suggestions of games and things to do. After chasing them around in some game that no one really understood the rules to, the children sat as he pulled out a mandolin and began playing a happy song along with a few of the other men. By nightfall, they had said their goodbyes and gave the people enough supplies and coins to last them the next few months.

They got on their carts and went on their way, the people happily waving behind as they disappeared back into the forest. "Do you do this everyday." Regina asked curiously.

"Most days while our supplies are good." On man responded.

"We stop at nightfall to get food in some of the richer villages and drop off goods in the villages in the morning. When our supplies run low, we find another greedy monarch to take from and give to the poor villages. Sometimes, they don't even notice and most times the theft isn't worth their precious time." Another added.

A flock of birds flew overhead tweeting their sweat melody and a light breeze drifted through the air. "This is the life that is for me." She said relaxing back into the cart.

"Robin! Over the horizon look!" One of the men yelled. Robin, who was in front on a chestnut mare, quickly made a few hand gestures and the men redirected the carts into the forest.

"Hold on girl!" the first man yelled. The cart began to shake as it was hurried into the forest. She grasped the edges as hard as she could, her knuckles turning white in tension. They flew into the forest as fast as the carts would allow. They went deep so that they could no longer see the road. A hush fell over the group as a jingling noise was heard from overhead. A man screamed at the top of him lungs and Regina cringed. So the noises subsided and the group started back up the hill.

"What was that?"

"The sheriff. He is a rotten bastard who works for King Leopold. He brings loons into to prison, their poor souls." A man that she recognized from the bar said. If she was correct, his name was Andrew.

"We must beware of him at all times or he will arrest us too. We are criminals of the state."

Regina frowned as she remembered the man's screams echoing through the forest. She knew her husband as intolerant, but never as cruel. If she had only known back then.

Robin had become tired and switched his place with one of the men in Regina's cart on the horse. The sun now down and a cool breeze consistently blowing past them, she clung to her hood trying to keep herself warm with no luck. Robin saw her shivering and wrapped his large arms around her middle to keep her warm. She leaned back into his warmth and smiled lightly. She did enjoy this most about traveling. Being with some one who made her feel important. One who told her that she could do anything. One who promised he would show her the world, take her to see every wonder far and wide while performing good deeds on the way. Yes this was the life for her.


	4. Battle Wounds

**A/N Happy Sunday! Sorry for taking so long for this update, midterm papers took up a lot of my time over the past week, but they are now done and I have some more time on my hands to write again. Thanks for your patients. **

* * *

She was awoken from a light sleep early the next morning by a soft breeze. She cracked her eyes open a little bit. Seeing through the small sliver in her eye lids it still considerably dark out, she rolled over to indulge in more sleep time. The warmth of his body under hers helped her relax into his arms nuzzling her in his shoulder. She traced little patterns of his soft leather vest with her index finger lightly, not hard enough for him to feel, but enough to send sparks through her finger and add a little warmth of happiness to her body.

Every so often however, she got the strange sensation zinging through her spine. The feeling of being watched. She would look up, and when she found no one there she would repreposition herself again in the crook between his shoulder and chest. Then she heard a faint rustling of leaves and a few twigs snapping. She snapped her head in the direction of the noise to see nothing. Robin began to move a bit and she sat a still as possible, pretending that she was still fast asleep. His movement eventually ceased and she glanced upward, checking to make sure his eyes were shut before climbing out of the cart they were sleeping in.

She jumped over the edge, hitting the bottom with a soft thump. She then checked to make sure no one was watching before running into the woods where the rustling had occurred. Some one else had to be here. There was no doubt about it; she could feel it in her bones.

However when she reached the area and surveyed it carefully, she still found nothing. Confused, she started back to camp being disturbed by a sudden voice.

"Do you really think you could hide from me, Dearie?" the high pitched voice spoke with a cackle. There was no mistaking the owner of this voice.

"What do you want?" She said turning slowly to see her master's, scales and all, standing before her. In the list of people she didn't want to see ever again, he was in the fourth, with the first being that idiotic princesses that lived in her happy little world without realizing what pain she had caused, then her mother, the woman who ripped the heart from the man she had loved, and third ignorant king who for this short time she had known as her husband. He had turned her to the darkness, and no matter how much crap he had told her about the darkness enjoying her, she knew that she was a good person. She didn't want to be a pawn in his games.

"Like a said all that time ago over dinner, you failed to show up to your lessons." He began walking around the area as he talked, pacing with his heel hitting the ground first, and then rolling his toes down on to the forest floor. "Really, I never though you as a queen would end up in a place like this."

She turned around starting to walk back. "Leave me alone." She commanded as she walked away.

"You have better things to do then to abiding with a band couple of outlaws."

His statement stopped her in her tracks. "What?"

He giggled. "You don't even know the company you travel with." He got up very close to her, almost in her face. "Your little boyfriend over their, it isn't going to last." She scowled, squinting her eyes at him. "Trust me I can see the future." He said without blinking.

"Your lying." She said stoutly.

"Have I a reason to lie?" She was feed up with his nonsense and started back to camp. "Trust me Dearie," She gasped as he appeared in font of her eyes causing her to jump a little. "You should return to your castle."

"Fuck you." She pushed his shoulder with great strength and pushed the imp aside so she could continue walking back to camp.

"Fine! But when he leaves you, don't say I didn't warn you!"

She rolled her eyes as his voice subsided in the distance and she re-entered the camp. There was a small campfire burning and she poked at it with a stick, making the coals to spark. A little fire started and she threw in the stick she was prodding it with.

From around her neck, she reached down under her shirt and pulled out a basic chain adorned with a ring. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she spun it in her hands. That ring was her reminder that she could find love, no matter the cost. And that reminder was enough to give her a reason to go on.

She heard light footsteps coming up from behind her and quickly tried to stuff the ring back under her blouse. She then sat up straight pretending that nothing happened. "Your up early."

She smiled brightly. "I should say the same to you." She moved over on the log she was sitting on to make room for him to sit down. "Join me?"

He nodded sitting down placing his right hand on her leg. She placed her's over top of his and caressed it gently, tracing the lines on his palm. She found one line in his hand fascinating, more like a scar than line. "What happened to your hand?" She asked softly.

"Oh, right..." he said embarrassed. "This is the mark of a merry man. It is like a right of passage." He reached into his quiver and pulled out a hunting knife. She stared at it, admiring the fine craftsmen ship."With this blade, all these men have taken the oath to be the poor man's friend. He grabbed her right hand carefully and brought it toward him. He placed the knife on her fine skin lightly, pressing but not stabbing. "Do you think you could take that oath?"

"Yes"

"Then," He stood up and held her hand over the small fire. "I declare you a member of the Merry men." he pressed the knife into her skin, drawing a line from bellow her ring finger to the lower part of her thumb. She balled her hand into a fist causing drops of her blood to fall onto the ground. He then removed the knife and cleaned the wound. He raised his right hand and she pressed her's against it, their scars matching perfectly.

He raised his hand to cup her face, his thumbs caressing her cheek. She smiled a wide smile, one that he matched. He moved his hand curiously to her upper lip where a large scar cut into her lip. "While we talk about injuries, may I ask where you got this?"

"I have had that scar for almost as long as I can remember. I was six, maybe seven years old. Mother had always told me that I shouldn't go and play outdoor games with the other children. One day, I had snuck out in the morning and found where the children play. They invited me to play in a game of hide and go seek, so turned around to count with my face pressed against a tree." She took a deep breath as the memory began to play in her head.

"When I had counted to the number twenty five, I turned around to go look for the other children, but was found with the face of my mother. She scolded me for playing games, she said they were unlady like. She told me to come, but I refused to move. She grabbed me by my wrists and forced me to follow her into the carriage. On the walk, mother walked too quickly and I tripped over a pile of sticks near the side of the road and ended with my head in a pile of stones. When I looked up, my mother gave me a look of disgust which I think I will never forget. She picked me up and told me wipe my face of the dirt using a handkerchief that she threw to me. When finished dabbing my face, I looked down on it, now drenched in my bright red blood. I remember licking my lips and feeling a divot left in my lip that burned to the touch and tasted of blood. Mother wanted to cover it up, but I told her to leave it."

"Your mother sounds like a character herself."

"We are nothing alike. When I was little, her friends said I looked like her, but I don't see it anymore."

"I am glad you are different from her. Scar and all."

* * *

A hunting party had left the camp around noon. It consisted of most of the men in the camp, with the exception of a few of the highest ranking merry men. They were planing the raids of a large party of nobles traveling through the forest. Robin had a map of the forest spread out flat on a tree stump. He traced his finger along a think road.

"The royals tend to take this route for its flatness. It is the most steady and easy going in the area." He started pointing at large bends in the road. "These parts of the road are the best for us to hide in. The best place for use to hide would be here." His finger came down on a single point on the map. "Any idea's how to distract the men so we can take their gold stash?"

Regina thought back to a story that she had read from a story book years ago. "What if we chop down a tree to block their path. Then we can have the nimble men jump from the trees and take as much as they can as the men try to clear the tree from the path?"

"But how can we guarantee that they take that route." One of the other men said pointing at the other three paths that go in the same direction.

"They can't take the mountain paths, they are too step, and the one by the valley is too deep. And this path over here is an area infested with trolls. Besides that bridge is not wide enough to allow royal carriages to pass."

Robin nodded rolling back up the map and sticking it back into a chest. "Right, then we will get the smallest men in the trees and the largest will push the tree into place."

"Where are the others?" Little John asked as he stood up peering around camp. "They usually would be back by now."

"Yes they should be..." Robin started looking over all of the camp. There was not a soul out there.

All of the large tents were emptied. All of the personal items had been taken from their beds. Some of the horses that should be there were now missing.

They all waited around a large campfire for hours and hours. It was twilight and the stars shined down. None of the men from the hunting party had returned. They ate their meals and went out to their sleeping places and slept like a usual night. Robin and Regina had reached the sleeping place that they shared.

They changed into their night attire and snuggled up by each other. It was unusual for it to be so quite, without the men's loud snores and snorts the place seemed so empty. She rolled over to look at him straight into his eyes. "I find it funny that I miss them."

"Wonder where they went?" He spoke after a large yawn.

"I wish I knew."

* * *

**A/N Thank you for all of your support! I can hardly believe that I already have 100 followers! Please review!  
**


	5. A Poster and an Arguement

She knew he would have found out one way or another. This was not the way she wanted it to happen though; She didn't want him to find out this way. But still, as he raised the flimsy poster, blood pounded in her ears. She became hot with nervousness. She felt tears prick the sides of her eyes as she skimmed the grey print on the poster.

**Notice:**

**The royal family has placed an arrest warrant has been placed on a band of thieves that robbed the royal castle and kidnapped Queen Regina. Any persons with information about these thieves or the location of the queen will be awarded in gold. Their leader is wanted dead or alive.**

Bellow it bore the symbol of the White kingdom and she knew that it was all over; Robin knew she was the queen.

She swallowed hard and felt her cheeks become warm with embarrassment. "Why, Regina. Why didn't you tell me you were the _queen_!" he yelled to her.

A tear dripped out of her eye and rolled down her rosy checks. "Because, for once in my life, I wanted to be treated like a human. Not a royal! Not a child! Not a noble! Like a normal average woman! I thought that if I didn't tell you, then I would just be free from my life!"

"But I am now a wanted criminal because of you! Don't you know that this is where all of our men went! You are lucky that we found this before the rest of us were captured by the sheriff!"

"Do you know how horrible my life was? You wouldn't know what it is like! I wanted to get out of there the day I arrived!"

"You could have just told me! Then maybe the rest of my men would be here!"

"I..." she sniffled. "I thought you wouldn't accept me."

"I would have." he said lifting his hand to wipe a tear off her burning red cheeks. "Anything to help a person in need. It is my job, you know,as a merry man."

"And..." she swallowed hard. "Do you know what I need?"

"You need freedom. And you also need to be loved." He moved in so that he was very close to her face. He leaned forward so that they were touching at both the forehead and the nose at the same time. "I find it difficult to be mad at you, your majesty."

"That's Regina to you." she whispered barely loud enough for him to hear. A small, yet genuine smile appeared on her face giving him permission to press a feather light kiss on her lips. She wove her fingers into his hair pulling him closer to him as their kiss continued on. He allowed his hands to firmly grip the soft leather vest bound to her waist assisting her in closing the gap between themselves.

"Robin!" One of the men yelled to him from the camp in the distance stopping their moment. "Get your lips off you girlfriend and get your ass over here! We have a serious problems!" Robin got up and lead Regina to the tall man who spoke. The man continued his rant as they walked."We have lost all of our men to her little stunt." He said pointing his finger in her face.

Regina clenched her fists hard to restrain from punching him. She felt Robin place his hand on her shoulder. "It's not her fault, Little John." Robin protested.

"Yes, it is her fault! There are twelve of us. Just twelve men!"

"Well I can't do anything about it now!" She blurted out.

Little John scowled at her and turned back to the rest of the men who were packing up their supplies. "Go run home to your plush palace and your riches." He picked up her sack of possessions and threw it down at her feet. "You don't belong here."

She opened her mouth to talk back to him, but held her tongue. She reached down and snatched up her bag retrieving the book from within it. She flipped the pages quickly before pin pointing a spell. She blew on the book an a cloud of magic came up from the surface and she inhaled it. Her eyes glowed a magical shade of purple and a purple haze fell over the camp.

When the haze subsided, each of the men found themselves dressed in fine clothing. Regina was dressed in one of her favorite fall riding jackets, well Daniel's favorite jacket. It was powder blue and went down her back almost to her knees. She wore the same riding boots, fine slacks, and a plain white blouse.

Robin's cloak had been transformed into a regal ruby cape that flowed behind him as he walked around observing the other men. Under the cape, he wore a fine brown suit and his leather quiver was now adorned with beautiful white embroidery. He adjusted his clothing a little, seeming uncomfortable in the unfirmiliar.

One of the men spoke first. "Wow. I never knew that this could be accomplished with magic." A few of the other men tugged at the tight sleeves of their coats.

Little John stopped packing and observed his new boots that rose up almost to his knees. "What is all of this for?"

"Disguises. We can now travel with out being bothered."

"I don't need your fancy clothes to do what I want to do." He sneered as he took off the fine coat she had given him and tossed it inside of the cart. "If you want to give some one clothing, give it to the starving children of _your _kingdom."

"I am trying to save your lives now. It is just a precaution!" She yelled waving her arms.

Robin's hand met her shoulder. "Stop both of you! We have more important things to worry about." He pulled his map out of his new quiver. "There is a group of nobles riding through this pass today. I have a good hunch that they will be carrying much riches with them. We are going to pull off Regina's plan in a much smaller scale."

"How are we going to knock down one of those large tree's?" One of the men asked as he observed the new sword he carried with him. The sun hit it in such a way as to case little specs of light to move around on the forest floor.

Robin sighed. " Here is a plan. The ten of you will wait in the low branches of the trees and then be on the look out. When you see them, give the signal." Then men nodded began their preparations with the exception of Little John who stood against the car with a scowl on his face. "Come on men! We need to get there before dawn! There may be less of us, but we still serve! Were are still the merry men!"

* * *

The men took positions in the trees and Regina and Robin were ready bellow. Robin had shared his plan with her. He cut his fine trousers and placed crushed up berries bellow, making it appear as if he had actually been injured. She pretended to limp on her left side and she had sat down in the mud for a minute to stain her clothing to resemble that she was in some kind of accident. She slid down next to a large oak tree as she watched the rest of the merry men take their positions up in the high tree branches. She wiggled around a bit until she was comfortable and Robin placed his hand on her knee.

"You know what our cover story is, right?" He said while rubbing her leg.

"Mmmmhhhhmmmm." She hummed. "You are my brother and we were riding until we were thrown from our horse."

"I do wish we could have come up with a more, romantic situation." He said softly.

"Why?"

"Because it is killing me not to kiss you right now."

"Why would you want to kiss me?"

"What are you talking about? Why wouldn't I want to kiss you. You are beautiful. You are special. You are original. And most of all, I have feelings for you."

"You do?"

"Yes..." He trailed off looking straight into her eyes. "Regina, I-"

What sounded like a bird whistle stopped their conversation instantly. Regina closed her eyes and tried to imagine something depressing. She went with a particular memory of her mother when being punished for being late to tea. Magic did make for cruel punishment...

She felt his calloused hand clutch hers as she pretended to be in one of her mother's magical contraptions. The on coming jingling of horses began to get louder and she cringed. "Some one please!" Robin cried out. His cries successfully stopped the carriages and she began to moan in pain.

"Sir!" Robin called to the man leading the carriage. "Please help me! My sister and I were thrown from our horse and she was badly injured!" The man got up from his seat. Instantly on of the merry men in the tree's jumped down onto the carriage. Being barely dawn, no one noticed him in his dark clothing.

"What are you doing out here?" the carriage driver inquired

"We were traveling form the highlands to the White Kingdom. I was escorting her to see the man she is going to be marrying." He said sternly as Regina squirmed a bit. Large arms wrapped around her body to keep her warm. "But now she is hurt."

"Let me see." the man said observing her body. "Where does it hurt?"

Regina saw a the rest of men helping to haul out a crate from the front of the carriage and disappear into the woods. She pointed to her chest. "In here..." she said faintly.

"Seems like she has a broken rib. She needs to be taken to a medicine man. Until then, we have some medical herbs in one of the carriages. Follow me." The man led Robin into the dark and soon he returned with a few leaves. Robin tilted her head up toward him and pretended to feed her the herbal medicine as he tucked it into his the long sleeves of his suit.

She pretended to swallow hard an grown in pain. He then picked her up carefully to not injure her.

She moaned loudly with every movement. "Thank you very much." Robin said as he stepped off the side of the road and got out of the way of the travelers.

They waited until the group passed join the others. "What did you get Robin?" One called. He reached into his pants pockets and pulled out a large array of herbs and powders for medicines.

"What about you?" He asked. He walked over to the create they had stolen. Little John cracked it open to reveal that it was full of shimmering gold coins. Robin reached inside and put his hands down to his wrists in the coins and smiled. "Looks like we are rich men." he said with a large smile.


End file.
